plugged up. the blown-out bp well that caused the largest oil spill in u.s. history is finally declared dead. home sweet home. an american hiker jailed in iran for more than a year speaks out. and house arrest. actor randy quaid and his wife in hot water again. this time, accused of squatting. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with mission final accomplished. bp says a permanent seal is now in place on its blown-out well

at the bottom of the gulf of mexico. however, killing the catastrophic well off is a bittersweet victory for gulf coast residents, who fear they'll be battling the effects of the nation's worst environmental disaster for years to come. nbc's jay gray has our report. >> reporter: it began april 20th with a massive fireball and deadly flames cutting through the night air. as the deepwater horizon rig exploded, then collapsed, 11 lives were lost. and oil began to seep into the gulf, the start of the worst spill in u.s. history. now, 154 days later, government scientists say the final seal, 74 barrels of cement, is holding tight, and that the well will never leak again. president obama acknowledged the work that's been done and perhaps the more difficult job that lies ahead, in a written statement which says, in part, we will continue to work closely with the people of the gulf to rebuild their livelihoods and restore the environment that

supports them. my administration will see our communities, our businesses, and our fragile ecosystems through this difficult time. difficulties that continue to wash up along the gulf coast. cleanup teams fight every day at plaquemines parish, but it seems right now, the oil is winning the battle there. >> we can't fix this on our own. we can't rebuild this on our own. we need -- we need help from the whole country, i mean, really. we need everybody. >> reporter: help they may need for years here. jay gray, nbc news, venice, louisiana. well, freed american hiker sarah shourd spoke out yesterday in defense of her fiance and a friend, both still captive in iran, calling their arrest and detention a quote, huge misunderstanding. shourd's comments were carefully constructed and timed to coincide with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad's visit to new york to address the u.n.

general assembly. nbc's brian mooar has the story. >> reporter: sarah shourd is back on american soil. no longer an iranian prisoner, but still living a nightmare. >> and i stand before you today only one-third free. >> reporter: iran is preparing to try her fiance shane bauer and their hiking companion josh fattal, 13 months after the three were arrested near the iran/iraq border. >> we committed no crime, and we are not spies. >> reporter: reading a prepared statement, shourd thanked the religious and political leaders in iran for her release. >> the only thing that enabled me to cross the gulf from prison to freedom alone was the knowledge that shane and josh wanted, with all their hearts, for my suffering to end. >> reporter: and for their mothers, the vigil continues. >> i love him so much, and i want him home for his father, for his brother, for his grandparents. >> reporter: they are hoping to meet with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, in new york

for meetings with the u.n. general assembly. he hints a prisoner exchange may be possible. >> translator: so i believe that it would not be misplaced to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture. >> reporter: one family reunited, while two others hold out hope. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. disturbing details revealed in yesterday's "washington post." it uncovers a shocking story of rogue members of one u.s. army platoon randomly targeting and killing afghan civilians for sport. according to military documents and interviews, the newspaper reported five members of the unit staged killings in kandahar province while seven others have been charged with crimes related to the case. apparently what started as a mock war game waged against one afghan man led to the unprovoked murder of at least three other people over several months.

other charges filed allege soldiers dismembered and photographed corpses, used illegal drugs, tried to interfere with the investigation, and assaulted one private who blew the whistle on the gruesome attacks. the accused soldiers reportedly deny any wrongdoing. and now here's a look at some news going on around america today. in utah crews are working to contain a fast-moving fire that allegedly broke out at a machine gun range during a training exercise prompting the evacuation of over 1,000 homes. so far, there are no reports of fatalities or injuries, though one woman was treated for smoke inhalation. in new jersey, crews worked to clean up thousands of rotting fish that washed up at a local beach. it's not clear what caused the massive fish kill, but low oxygen levels could be to blame. the department of environmental protection is investigating. and in louisiana, local artists and celebrities came together for a unique fundraising project.

turning shin-high shrimp boots into works of art. over 40 uniquely designed boots, including one signed by saints head coach sean payton, and a boot designed by nbc's own hoda kotb will be raffled off, and proceeds will go to the victims of the oil spill. they're actually really well done. for a look at your national weather, let's turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning. >> good morning. did you have a great weekend? >> i did. i all of a sudden noticed the fall chill in the area. >> in some areas, i know. let me show you the big story of the weekend weather-wise that is hurrica hurricane igor. let me show you what it looked like when it came into bermuda yesterday. it was definitely windy for a long period of time. it wasn't that the storm was that intense, but the duration,

the length of the storm was incredible. that was causing the power outages. the trees couldn't take the stress hour after hour of the gusty winds. the storm itself is now pulling away. some of those clouds and a bit of rain may effect our friends in canada. still descend-sized waves on the east coast. a lot of rip currents in florida, volusia county had 30-some rescues over the weekend. the forecast takes it out to sea over the next 24, 36 hours and not effecting more land areas. we get a break from the tropics this week and a break from any bad weather. we had a lot of heavy rain this weekend in south texas. corpus christi almost ten inches of rain. still cloudy and cooler, though. the nation is kind of divided now. high pressure over the great lakes, hot conditions over the southeast. the exception being where we are getting those pesky showers from corpus christi to brownsville. once you're north of there, it's

going to be steamy. dallas in the 90s once again. 94 today. kansas city to denver, 90. summer is not letting go quite yet. but it's a cooler fall air mass. if you live in the great lakes, the mid-atlantic or new england, it's going to be a gorgeous fall-like week. temperatures today and tomorrow around 75 in new york. d.c. almost near 80. one of those days where you can get outside, if you can get away with it, take your extra long lunch. >> don't give people ideas. get people busted. remember the phrase as gm goes so goes the nation? well, a big part of the company may be bought by the chinese government. your "first look" at business headlines is straight ahead. >> another rough outing for brett favre, and a remarkable grab by randy moss. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. [ whistling ]

[ dog barking ] [ sniffing ] [ male announcer ] missing something? like 2 pairs of glasses for $99.99 at sears optical, with bifocal lenses for just $25 more per pair. hurry in to sears optical today and don't miss a thing. what i wouldn't do for a do-over. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® clinical skincare helps restore collagen depleted skin to undo the look of a year's worth of skin aging in just 4 weeks. clinical skincare. neutrogena®. in just 4 weeks. so, we book a flight to hawaii using our points from chase sapphire. last minute... on christmas. and sitting next to us, chevy chase. and we really hit it off. we play golf, and then the luau.

he's like da vinci with ice. and after, we help hang christmas decorations. wait, wait, wait. you flew last minute... on christmas... with points from chase sapphire? yeah. amazing. believe it. with points from chase sapphire, you can book airline tickets with no blackout dates or restrictions. [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax.

it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry.

here are some of the top stories making news this morning. as the ballots are counted in this weekend's afghan parliamentary elections, observers of the vote are questioning its legitimacy. they're concerned about numerous fraud complaints. also, it appears some afghans were scared away by violence that killed 11. preliminary results are not expected until october. a wave of attacks across iraq yesterday killed at least 36 people. it marked the worst violence there since the u.s. formally declared an end to combat operations. in california, actor randy quaid and his wife are facing burglary charges after apparently being caught living in a house they haven't owned for years. officials say the couple insisted they still own the home. but documents prove that wasn't the case. this was the couple's second serious brush with the law in the past year. star gazers get your telescopes out tonight. jupiter will make its closest approach to earth in 50 years.

the planet will only be 368 million miles away. it won't be as big or bright again until 2022. and now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,607, after adding 13 points on friday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq gained 12. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei climbed 116 points while in hong kong the hang seng edged up 6. this week, wall street investors will be hoping some kind of boost from the federal reserve will provide a turning point for markets mired in uncertainty. what steps, if any, will fed chief ben bernanke and company take to help jump-start the struggling economic recovery when they meet tuesday on interest rates? they could lower rates or make other moves to stimulate the economy. but with recent upbeat data, including stronger than expected private sector job growth, most

analysts don't expect major moves. still, positive comments alone could spark market confidence. it's a big week ahead for readings on the state of the nation's housing market. new and existing home sales, along with new home construction, are expected to rise but look for both permits for future home construction and home prices to fall. this week we'll also get quarterly earnings reports from companies such as bed, bath & beyond, discover financial, nike, and general mills. speaking of, general mills, the company refused to comment sunday on a report it's considering a $1.5 billion bid for the french yogurt maker yoplait, whose products it distributes in the u.s. elsewhere, no comment from gm, and the treasury department on reports gm is in talks with its current partner in china about buying a stake in the company. saic is owned by the chinese government. an indian conglomerate is reportedly in discussions about buying the struggling film

studio mgm for $2 billion. and finally, in a sign parents are still cutting back on nonessential spending in england, news that children's weekly pocket money has fallen to a seven-year low there. well in health news this morning, the united nations reports the number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthday has fallen by a third since 1990. data from unicef shows the total number of under five deaths dropped to just over 8 million a year in 2009. that's from almost 12.5 million in 1990. member nations have agreed to a goal of just 4 million by the year 2015. >> for more information on this and other health news check out the health page on msnbc.com. well, peyton faces eli. a redskins kicker gets frozen, and bet favre saves the wrong team. plus randy moss makes an incredible one-handed catch. but was it enough to help the

patriots slide past the jets? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. well, i'm an avid catamaran sailor. i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and i really love my bank's raise your rate cd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap ? uh, actually, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd. you spent 8 days lost at sea ? no, uh... you love watching your neighbors watch tv ? at ally, you'll love our raise your rate cd that offers a one-time rate increase if our current rates go up. ally. do you love your bank ? ♪ ♪ one, two, three, four ♪ you say ♪ flip it over and replay ♪ we'll make everything okay ♪ walk together the right way

♪ do, do, do, do the most powerful half-ton crew in america has a powertrain backed for 100,000 miles. chevy silverado half-ton a consumers digest best buy and the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickups on the road. now get 0% apr for 72 months on 2010 silverado half-ton models with an average finance savings around $5,600.

but basically, i'm a runner. last year. (oof). i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a doctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. welcome back to "first look" i'm lynn berry. in sports when it comes to tough sibling rivalries, try being peyton manning's little brother. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. peyton manning took it to his little brother eli as the colts led from start to finish. mom and dad on hand to see their

boys play. indy up 14-0, peyton threw three touchdowns. tough game for eli, sacked and fumbled in the third, colts recovered in the end zone. nothing went right for the giants. indy won in a rout 38-14. jets and pats, play of the game turned in by randy moss. tom brady tossed it up and moss hauled it in with a remarkable one-handed grab. one more time. moss made it look so easy. but after that it was all new york. mark sanchez threw a career high three touchdowns. jets upset the patriots 28-14. great finish between the texans and redskins. final minutes, matt schaub scrambles to johnson in the end zone. that forced over time. redskins with a chance to win. a 52-yard field goal. game over, right? wrong. houston called a time-out just before he kicked it. wouldn't you know it, the second attempt shanked. texans ice the kicker and it actually worked. moments later houston completed the comeback. rackers with a chip shot. texans rallied from 17 down to win it 30-27 in o.t. the eagles michael vick made his

first start since 2006. he looked pretty good. threw a pair of touchdown passes and the eagles held on to beat the lions 35-32. another forgettable day for brett favre. the dolphins picked him off three times. the ball batted around, never touched the ground, and miami came up with it. vikings lost again 14-10. and finally a great catch to show you from the bruins ryan braun. the giants cody ross hit one down the line in left. braun robbed ross of a home run. the giants coach called it one of the best catches he's ever seen. i have to agree. giants won it. that's your "first look" at sports. >> now for another look at the weather, here is bill karins. did you catch manning bowl? >> i didn't. >> you didn't? >> i wanted to. i normally would have, but the seven hours of football i put in before that was enough. >> or your wife turned the

television off. this is my unofficial week off. >> is it? >> last week with all the hurricanes -- >> that's why i saw you in the makeup room with your feet off. >> yeah. let me tell you about the forecast. buffalo, 45 degrees. new england is a bit on the cooler side. 64 in new york. 65 in philadelphia. washington, d.c. a mild 70 degrees. a beautiful sunrise out there this morning. not many cloud also effect us this week. it will be a tranquil week. d.c. today, 79. new york at 76. typical of what you would expect mid to late september. very much feeling like fall. even into, as we go throughout this week, it will be nice. tuesday to wednesday and every single day is going to be pretty much dry out there. let's show you the forecast as we go throughout the country, looking very nice out there today and tomorrow in the

southeast. it's going to be warm the next couple of days. temperatures in texas, especially north texas, in the 90s. same with areas like denver. down to the southeast we are also going to be very, very warm. not a lot changes. the only problem area is the west coast. anyone doing traveling, especially the pacific northwest, seattle, portland, that's where we will deal with shower activity and wet weather. lynn, as i mentioned, it's nice. always news for you. always something for you to talk about. every now and then i get these quiet periods. >> we try and set that up for you. when you are working so hard, we just give bill a break. >> see, yeah. >> we try. >> a giant upset at the box office this weekend. plus perpetual troublemakers paris hilton and lindsay lohan spend the weekend weaving their way through legal issues. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. wall street is getting back on its feet.

but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty. in times like these, you need an experienced partner to look out for you. heads up! and after 300 years we have gotten pretty good at that. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm.

welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. friday night on "late night with jimmy fallon" jimmy pointed out that strange behavior can come in handy as an actorment. >> it turns out that joakim phoenix's stint as acting crazy and weird was a performance for a new movie he has coming out. when he heard that, mel gibson was like, me, too? right? act actor. >> this is kind of nice. paris hilton rescued 20 rabbits from a pet shop after she found out they were going to be fed to snakes. after that, a snake rescued the 20 rabbits after it found out they were going to be adopted by paris hilton.

what comes around goes around. and finally, new york fashion week had its first ever plus-sized runway show to reinforce that you don't have to be ultra thin to be beautiful. also reinforced, the actual runway. >> tonight jimmy welcomes the julianna magolise. that's tonight on "jimmy fallon." now here's a look at the headlines in entertainment. lindsay lohan says she admitted she failed a drug test, which could mean more jail time for the actress.

and it turns out it must have been paris hilton's purse after all. in exchange for pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of drug possession and obstructing an officer, hilton will get no jail time. she must complete a drug program and pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service. this weekend's underdog box office winner completely fooled all the experts. ben affleck's heist thriller "the town" stealing away the number one spot, opening with almost $24 million. rave reviews helped the drama make off with roughly $10 million more than most experts predicted. on the other hand, the comedy "easy a" underperformed. opening in second place with just over $18 million. and the horror film "devil" rounded out the top three with just over $12.5 million. which is more than i would have predicted it would make. >> there's such like an appetite for these horror movies, i don't think they have to be that good anymore. >> they should be horror movi movie/m. knight -- >> you are supposed to be the

nicer one of us. >> i thought i would give you a break and i'll be the mean one today. i'm lynn berry this is msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. tea was the topic of the weekend with sarah palin and iowa celebrating christina o'donnell's win. and clinton warning people not to be dismissive of the people in the tri-cornered hats. should president obama be talking more like president clinton? and the old clips of christine o'donnell keep coming. the latest from bill maher has the republican senate nominee dabbling in witchcraft. the question is what is a midnight picnic on a satanic altar? and the brothers manning square off. the question is do the mannings have any more children who can